14696/Customers are Nuts

Customers are Nuts
Date of Scene:	09 February 2023
Location:	Sherwood Florist, Pennytown
Synopsis:	A phone problem ends with Sherwood Florist becoming this year's Valentine's spot-to-go for supervillains! Good money was made, though it's possible that Anya has a date with Brainiac.
Cast of Characters:	Arana, Pink Ranger, Green Ranger, Black Canary

---

Arana has posed:
Ana Corazon is on the phone. She's not really supposed to be on the phone, but there it is anyway.

"How can I help you?" Pause. "No, this is a flower store." Beat. "European voltage is 220, you'll need an adapter." She sighs, then runs her hand over her own head, taking the call with aplomb. "No, I'm not trying to sell you one, this is a flower store." Pause, again. "No, don't do that. You'll electrocute yourself."

"Yes, Europe has healthcare. If you prefer that over buying a travel adapter for ten dollars, I'll see you on the Darwin awards." She says goodbye, hangs up, and then looks at the room.

"Hi."

Pink Ranger has posed:
Into the store comes Kimberly, ironically enough she was herself an avid gardener in high-school...and Dinah had let slip that she was a florist along with the name of the place. No way she wasn't checking it out! Taking a moment to make her way in, the brunette had her hair tied back in a lazy low ponytail and pushed her way through the glass door, spotting Ana on the phone and offering a lift of her hands and a fingerwave.

Green Ranger has posed:
Tommy came in a few moments after Kimberly. He had been parking the Radbug, borrowed from Billy. It was a bit tricky, going from 20,000 mph to 30 mph, but he was getting the hang of it. Plus, parallel parking in that thing was always an adventure. When he passed through, the door above him would jingle the bell, alerting staff to another arrival or depature.

Arana has posed:
Anya waves to the arrivals, going to another line. She shakes her head. "Hey," she manages, before having to talk to someone else. Covering her phone with a hand, she asks, "Can either of you wrap flowers? Dinah had to do a delivery."

Then she goes back to trying to talk with one hand, and tie bows with the other four hands. No, she doesn't have more than two.

There are customers in the store as well, one of which is apparently munching on a display. He's a big boy, that one.

Black Canary has posed:
"I thought European voltage was 240?" Dinah wonders aloud as she enters the shop from the stairs to her loft. The generally rumpled look of her hair, the unmade-up face, and the fact she's in her pyjamas (flannel men's pyjamas) hint at the fact she'd been sleeping. The bags under her eyes also suggest an element of fatigue.

"Why are you answering questions about electricity anyway?"

She pauses as Anya's last words cross her mind finally.

"Oh, yes. Delivery. About that..."

Pink Ranger has posed:
Could she wrap flowers? Apparently! Kim gives a shrug and makes to head towards the request with a grin, glancing over her shoulder with a grin before the girl in her black denim jeans and pink halter top makes her way over to assist. Hopefully she still had the knack...or it was at least passable!

Then there was a voice from the stairs and a flannel-clad figure earning a blink from Kim and a grin. "Hey Dinah. Came to check the place out...and apparently get deputized."

Green Ranger has posed:
Tommy and Kimberly knew Dinah, not well, but she was quickly becoming a close friend. And when Ana, another new friend, asked if they could help, Tommy gave one quick look to Kim, and then back to Ana, nodding his head up and down in the affirmative. He wore an athletic Adidas top, black, with lime green stripes running down from the collar to his sleeves. The addias logo was also in lime green. And he had dark green jeans on below, a far cry from Dinah's pyjamas. He followed after Kim, finding an apron, which said 'Sherwood Florist'. He tied that around himself, and then lifted the other up and over Kimberly, letting it drape down across her from. He looped the hole around her neck, and tied the ribbon at the back, giving her a quick peck on the cheek from behind, "all right, where to start?"

Arana has posed:
Anya looks up as Dinah comes back, then says, "If they want accurate information, they can call a que cabron electronics store, not a concha de tu madre flower store! I thought you'd died!" Then she looks back to her phone, and says, "No, not you sir. I don't know why your wife won't talk to you, but roses are always a safe bet. Have you considered that you might not know her very well?"

That's when the big guy comes over, with a half a plant that has a bite out of some of the flowers. Rhododendron maybe. "Good taste," he says from his craggy face. "Baby like."

Well, Anya's not dealing with him. She's handling the incoming calls. Also a Rhod takes full sunlight, it won't do well in the sewers.

Pink Ranger has posed:
Huh. Okay.

Unfortunately Kim wasn't read up on Gotham villains, so when the newcomer makes to speak to her and ask on the plant, she offers a little giggle and a winning smile. "So...some plants are edible, but I don't suggest you take bites out of arrangements before you hand them over. Unless you think she finds it funny."

Green Ranger has posed:
7'5", 684 lb, scaly people were hardly the norm, here, or anywhere. Tommy didn't stare. That would be rude. But seeing the man did give him pause. Thankfully, Kimberly seemed to take care of him, showing the same charm she would show to anyone else. He sort of eavesdropped on that conversation, even as he got to work wrapping a flower that was set aside. There seemed to be a few that needed to be wrapped up for deliveries, with an order sheet taped near the station.

Arana has posed:
Dinah being distracted (it happens so easily) leaves nobody really in charge, but Anya is fielding calls with the attitude of a trooper. "No, that's not a real flower miss. I have a list of ...right in front of me? No, I'm not making that up." She pauses, then says, "This isn't a prank call is it?"

Up front though, Killer Croc looks confused. "But, taste good?" he insists, putting money on the counter. It's not the right amount, but he turns to leave and another person starts to come up.

He's got on a mask, seems like. "Doom requires gardenias," he says. "Latveria has an account, please prepare them immediately."

Doom-bot? Or the real thing? DOES IT MATTER?

Pink Ranger has posed:
In a world where mutants were normal enough, aliens are a thing and she often found herself fighting clay creatures...a giant crocodile man wasn't the weirdest thing she'd seen. Still, with Croc's logic apparently unassailable and his utter refusal of change she was left to just blink at the figure that...well, she's fairly sure she'd actually fought something of similar appearance before.

Yep, she was gonna let Tommy field this one!

Green Ranger has posed:
Tommy would remember this when he and Kimberly were old and grey, sitting in their rocking chairs, oh yes, Tommy would remember this. By then, between the Alzheimers, he might not remember what he had for breakfast, but he would remember this day.

Of course, Tommy did have a penchant for green, and maybe that would, in some very strange and aroundabout way, give him some kind of insight into the Latverian Doombot, or was it Doctor Doom himself? Who could tell. Tommy wasn't as good as Billy or Trini, but he knew his way around a computer, at least from a user interface stage. Ask him to upgrade RAM or make changes to a motherboard, and he'd be lost. But looking up an account, "ah, yes, oh... ok..." he was reading the instructions on the account, "Kim, we're going to need some boxes for this order."

Arana has posed:
"I need my order of roses, my girlfriend is NOT patient," another person says, standing behind Doom. He's clearly wearing a coat to hide who he is, and doing a shit job of it. But really, if the Joker wants roses, the Joker gets roses.

And then someone else pipes up, something about 'missing his date' and 'not enough time for this', but when both Doom and the Joker turn toward him, Calendar Man turns white and decides that maybe he can wait after all.

Anya looks up from her call, dealing with tech support or something, and sighs. "Do I need to step in here?"

Black Canary has posed:
The sound of an old-style aspirated hog out the front herald's Dinah's return from her delivery. (WHEN DID SHE *LEAVE*!? That is a mystery that will ring through the ages, but leave she did, and get changed into something approximating her usual civvies: too-tight jeans, too-tight tee, leather jacket. The bell rings as she re-enters the shop. "OK, that delivery was a bit exciting," she says. "Guy called his orchid Audrey 2 and it started to eat things. You know, small things. Bugs and such. Can't see that going wrong."

She looks around the shop as she takes off her leather jacket and tosses it, without looking, to the coat hanger, then walks over to said coat hanger and grabs her white lab coat-style coat for working the shop.

"OK, glad you three were here today. Manuel seems to be a no-show and these deliveries are taking up a bunch of time.

Beat.

"OK, who's ne..." Pause. "Wait, is that...?" She stares at the Joker. That 'if you cause me trouble you're dead' stare...

Green Ranger has posed:
Tommy had been trying to keep on top of this, dealing with Doctor Doom, or the Doombot, with Kimberly's assistance. Though when she disappeared in the back, getting those boxes, perhaps what was prepared, he wondered where she was. "I'll be right back," and he went to go look on that order. Thankfully, Dinah ran a tight ship, with everything easy to pick up. A few minutes later he would return with Doom's order, which was ready. It had just been placed near the loading dock, for ease, given how big of an order it was. Tommy, being that guy, decided to try and bring it all out himself. And he was doing a good job, until one began to teeter on top...

Arana has posed:
Dr Doom turns away from Canary, not bothering to respond to her. He has business to conduct. Joker, however, is not so lenient.

"Look, lady. I finally find a place that'll take my calls, I'm buying some goddamn flowers. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find that in this town?" Another person, someone in a domino mask, walks in after. Then another, there's a LINE outside. All paying customers.

They all say that they got through on the phone, after literally years of trying to find a florist that'd take their money.

Anya looks up, then sighs. "They all came through on the red line. It says 'take calls on this line', right?"

...

Do not take calls on this line.

Slightly smudged. She's on the phone with Killer Frost right now, from the caller ID.

Kim? She comes to help, as requested. But if she helps Tommy is not my call. I have phone duty.

Black Canary has posed:
This is probably too old a reference for most dear readers, but Canary pinches the bridge of her nose *exactly* like the Chief does whenever Agent 86 of CONTROL speaks in the old documentary "Get Smart".

"There's two words ahead of that..." she gently tells Anya.

But ... still ...

She sighs.

"What's done is done. And I guess even villains can look for love, even if they don't deserve it."

Wow! Judgemental much!?

Besides, there's the money angle. That's a lot of customers waiting in line...

Pink Ranger has posed:
Pink Ranger to the rescue...or at least the temporary florist girl. Dinah's comment comes to a chuckle...then she too stops dead at the sight of the Joker. Even she knew who that was... she trails off, one hand coming up to at least steady the tetering box before slipping up onto the tips of her toes to take the box off the top.

Green Ranger has posed:
Tommy caught Black Canary pinching the bridge of her nose, and would you believe, he *didn't* miss it by that much, or any other amount, as he used to watch re-runs of Get Smart when he stayed up way past his bed time as a child.

Tommy didn't get the Joker. Go figure. He just thought it was a clown. Some people would call it a creepy clown. But to Tommy, all clowns were creepy. Dr. Doom or the Doombat was fine, but the clown made him nervous. When Kim managed to stabiulise the tetering box, he said, "oh, thanks a lot Kim. That would have been embarrassing." He managed to get the boxes onto a counter, for Dr. Doom. "Would you like some help taking these to your... car?" He was making a guess.

Arana has posed:
"Don't come in right away, the line is around the corner." Anya is on the phone with someone else, and she shifts the phone to her other ear. "No, I don't have a boyfriend." She makes a gagging motion, then rolls her eyes.

"I think we'll be out of roses by the time you get here, actually. There's almost..." She pauses, looking past Tommy and Kimberly to the stocked back room, and then shrugs. "None left. Yeah, we'll be sold out by then. Sorry."

That's when Doom collects his delivery, and takes Tommy outside to his hover-vehicle. "Doom does not use fossil fuels. Doom wishes a healthy, greener earth." He pauses as Tommy loads, then says, "In Latveria, skin colour and race are not legal reasons for anything. We are hiring, it is good to find good help."

Joker isn't flirting, even with Dinah or Kim. His girlfriend is literally a killer.

Black Canary has posed:
Canary takes on a new job given the rush. Concierge. She works the line, finding out in advance what people are planning to order and using her (handwritten!) stock take to keep track of who was going to be able to get their order and who might want to think of alternatives.

And, where necessary, given the twitchy nature of some of the flood of customers, occasionally making peace.

"If that hand," she says quietly, grimly, to Condiment King, her surprisingly powerful fingers gripping him in a way that folds his left hand in an unimaginably painful fashion, "snakes even a millimetre closer to that mustard nozzle, your best friends will be calling you stumpy. Of the four stumps."

When the person he was altercating with starts to move, without even turning her head she points straight between her eyes. "And if you so much as hiccup right now, I will tear off both of your arms and beat you to a pulp with the messy ends!"

Pink Ranger has posed:
What vehicle is there to help load with, what do they have to do? Still, there was still some near before she comes to offer up the box while listening to the exchanges. Of course, coming past Canary comes with a quiet 'You so owe us' under her breath towards the blonde.

Green Ranger has posed:
Tommy just had the strangest experience in his long, about half an hour worth of experience, as a florist. Dealing with a Doombot will do that to you. But the Doombot has his flowers, in his hover-vehicle, and Tommy came back in, just in time to hear Dinah threaten to tear someone's arms and beat them to death with them. Was every florist shop like this, or just this one?

As if clockwork, Tommy passed Canary, after Kimberly, and quietly added under his own breath, "and she always collects on her debts."

Arana has posed:
"Relax, lady," the Joker says toward Dinah, his arms full of flowers. "We will literally never hurt a place that actually will sell to us. We're not THAT crazy." Then he walks away, leaving a sizeable tip, and gets into a clown car with five other clowns.

WHich explodes, or something.

Anya is yelling now, telling someone new on the phone to ...it's rude, and it's entirely in spanish, so. You gets wht you gets.

She hangs up, then says, "No more calls. That's it."

Which is ONLY twenty or so more customers... Valentine's day, you can't live with it, and you can't stab it in the face.

Black Canary has posed:
"Are you kidding?" Dinah says to Kimberly and Tommy. "After today I can pay off all my debts, buy a new house, hire staff, and sail my yacht out into the Pacific!"

She pauses and calculates.

"For about seventeen seconds total. I mean it's a good sales day, but it's a flower shop, come on!"

She chuckles and keeps up the line and stock management while Anya shows her telephone protocol and the rangers show off their ability to do sales and carriage.

When the mad rush ends, she slumps against a wall and looks over her store, almost completely cleaned out. With great fanfare she turns over the sign to "we are closed"...

...just as Brainiac shows up. "Am I too late?" he asks, belying his name.